He grew up around racetracks in the Midwest and helped his father John race against legends such as Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, and Dick Trickle. At just 14 years old Chad was crew chief of his father’s Rockford Speedway championship season. The duo also won the Great Northern Series championships and finished 2nd at the NASCAR Winston Racing Series. He has also worked as a commentator for NASCAR Performance on Speed. Knaus has voiced the crew chief in various NASCAR games. In November 2014 he was called to the NASCAR hauler after the Sprint Cup Series season finale for disobeying a NASCAR directive.